Fairway to heaven: Troon is the happiest place to be

IT is famous for its windswept beaches and majestic golf courses.

Now Troon, the coastal town on the ‘Ayrshire Riviera’, has been named the happiest place to live in Scotland.

The town was the only place north of the Border to make the top ten happiest places in the UK.

Leigh-on Sea, next to Southend, Essex, came in at number one. It has been praised for its community spirit, sports and arts facilities and strong sense of belonging.

The North Yorkshire town of Harrogate fell to third place from first, with Troon occupying second berth.

Swansea took the top spot for the happiest place to live in Wales, while Richmond won in London for the second year in a row.

Online estate agent Rightmove asked 24,000 people to rank 12 factors about their local area, from how friendly their neighbours are and how much people feel that they can be themselves, to how good the local services are. The study shows that people in Troon rate the town highly for its sense of belonging and safety.

Space is also one of the most important things when people are looking for a new home, which means places with open spaces such as beautiful parks and beaches feature heavily in the top ten.

Residents in Leigh-on-Sea say there is plenty to do, with the town topping the list for good access to sports and arts activities, as well as opportunities to develop skills.

It has been a lucrative place to live as well as a happy one.

The ripple effect of rising house prices out of London into the commuter belt has led to a 15 per cent increase in asking prices in Leighon-Sea, according to Rightmove. It means the average price of home in the Essex seaside resort currently stands at £384,439.

The spa town of Harrogate was knocked off the top spot by the lure of the two seaside towns, but its beautiful green spaces helped its third place happiness ranking.

Lytham St Annes, in Lancashire, Shrewsbury, in Shropshire, and Hitchin, in Hertfordshire, also featured in Rightmove’s top ten. Lytham St Annes is a seaside resort that is renowned for golf – like Troon, it is one of the host courses for the Open – while Shrewsbury and Hitchin are both market towns with listed buildings, including several pretty timber-framed homes.

Rightmove spokesman Abiola Oni said: ‘It seems the saying that we do like to “be beside the seaside” is true, whether you’re in the East of England or in Scotland.’

Meanwhile, figures show house prices accelerated during the month of the EU referendum, despite repeated warnings of a slowdown. The annual rate of UK house price inflation accelerated to 8.7 per cent in the year to June.

The rate was higher than the 8.5 per cent rise measured in May, according to the Office for National Statistics and brought the cost of an average home to £213,927.

The fastest growth was in the Western Isles, while the biggest fall was in Aberdeen, where prices dropped 6.8 per cent.